Europe's Automotive Industry on the Move


Book Description

The automotive industry is a major pillar of the modern global economy and one of Europe’s key industries. There can hardly be any doubt about the important role of this sector as an engine for employment, growth and innovation in Europe, and there are crucial challenges and opportunities ahead. The authors shed light on a broad range of issues – globalisation and restructuring, trade and foreign direct investment, innovation, regulation, and industry policy – and put a special focus on the new member states. While change may be inevitable, progress is not. This book shall serve as a map to all stakeholders: business executives and policy makers, investors and scholars.




Proceedings of the International Conference Theory and Applications in the Knowledge Economy TAKE 2017


Book Description

Foreword A famous Portuguese Poet once said around one hundred years ago; “before I was born all the words that should save the Humanity had already been written.., the only thing that was missing was to save Humanity.” Fast forward to the 21st century services led and knowledge based economy, and we have myriads of theoretical study about the decisive assets – namely intangibles. Those analysis are made in several perspectives, namely Human Resources, Knowledge Management, Intellectual Capital, and also many sectorial perspectiveslike Trade, Economics, Logistics, Social Policy etc. However, today the question about the applicability of all these studies remains unsolved. So, it like, many of the words that will save the Knowledge Economy have already been written, all we need is to save the Knowledge Economy…Or is it not? The idea behind TAKE Conference was to provide a multidisciplinary forum in which those multiple perspectives will come together. We believe it is a fruitful operation and we intend to continue the exercise in the future. The problem of the relation between theory and practice in the knowledge economy is getting more important and not lessimportant with the development of the BRICS and other nations. TAKE main question will be one of the problems of the 21st century. Following the promising start of TAKE 2016 in Aveiro, Portugal, TAKE 2017 was organized by the Faculty of Economics of Zagreb University, around Prof. Blazenka Knezevic. I would like to thank her and her team for the massive effort in putting TAKE 2017 together. It will be a very nice and memorable conference. I would like also to thank the 5 keynotes, the special sessions and workshop organizes, the authors of the 60 papers and 5 posters, the stream leaders, the reviewers and the sponsors for the efforts. And to the 90 participants from 20 countries: Austria, Bosnia‐Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Netherlands, Mexico, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States. A special word to Prof. Gaby Neumann from Wildau who organized the Proceedings. Let us make TAKE 2017 a great occasion and help save the knowledge economy a bit. Eduardo Tomé, Conference Chair Zagreb, July 2017




The Global Automotive Industry


Book Description

The automotive industry is still one of the world's largest manufacturing sectors, but it suffers from being very technology-focused as well as being relatively short-term focused. There is little emphasis within the industry and its consultancy and analyst supply network on the broader social and economic impacts of automobility and of the sector that provides it. The Global Automotive Industry addresses this need and is a first port of call for any academic, official or consultant wanting an overview of the state of the industry. An international team of specialist researchers, both from academia and business, review and analyse the key issues that make vehicle manufacturing still the world’s premier manufacturing sector, closely tied in with the fortunes of both established and newly emerging economies. In doing so, it covers issues related to manufacturing, both established practices as well as new developments; issues relating to distribution, marketing and retail, vehicle technologies and regulatory trends; and, crucially, labour practices and the people who build cars. In all this it explains both how the current situation arose and also likely future trajectories both in terms of social and regulatory trends, as the technological, marketing and labour practice responses to those, leading in many cases to the development of new business models. Key features Provides a global overview of the automotive industry, covering its current state and considering future challenges Contains contributions from international specialists in the automotive sector Presents current research and sets this in an historical and broader industry context Covers threats to the industry, including globalization, economic and environmental sustainability The Global Automotive Industry is a must-have reference for researchers and practitioners in the automotive industry and is an excellent source of information for business schools, governments, and graduate and undergraduate students in automotive engineering.




The Automotive Industry and European Integration


Book Description

This book chronicles the divergent growth trends in car production in Belgium and Spain. It delves into how European integration, high wages, and the demise of GM and Ford led to plant closings in Belgium. Next, it investigates how lower wages and the expansion strategies of Western European automakers stimulated expansion in the Spanish auto industry. Finally, it offers three alternate scenarios regarding how further EU expansion and Brexit may potentially reshape the geographic footprint of European car production over the next ten years. In sum, this book utilizes history to help expand the knowledge of scholars and policymakers regarding how European integration and Brexit may impact future auto industry investment for all EU nations.




Automotive Disruption and the Urban Mobility Revolution


Book Description

This book provides an integrated perspective of the automotive market for the next decade. It shows how customers and producers are shaping the market simultaneously and contends that the first steps of the mobility revolution have already been taken. It compels automotive companies to strike new paths to participate in this journey. The authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the automotive industry, including prevailing business models of OEMs and 'tier-n' automotive suppliers, the competitive environment they are embedded in as well as socio-economic changes affecting future market conditions. Subsequently, elements of the automotive disruption are presented; these enable the provision of novel urban mobility concepts and offer a new source for additional services accompanying the user. A comprehensive insight into consumer behavior, potential automotive business models which can be sustained by 2030, smart city models, transformation strategies, and diverse market penetration scenarios are also provided in the book. It also outlines the challenges and key actions that shape the automotive sector even beyond 2030 as well as knock-on effects across different industries arising from the technological and economic changes in the automotive market are projected.




Understanding National Culture and Ethics in Organizations


Book Description

Understanding National Culture and Ethics in Organisations: A Study of Eastern and Central Europe reveals some leading questions in business research, linking ethics and national culture, with a particular emphasis on Eastern European countries.







Regional Economic Outlook, October 2010, Europe, Building Confidence


Book Description

The recovery in Europe continues, supported by strong policy action to contain sovereign debt problems in the euro area. In advanced Europe, lingering uncertainties and market pressures make for moderate and unequal growth, creating challenges for macroeconomic and financial sector policies. The REO also sheds light on the governance issues revealed by the crisis, arguing that better policy frameworks, in particular at the euro area level, promise a stronger Europe. For the first time, the REO devotes a separate chapter to the outlook for emerging Europe, where, after a deep recession, an export-led recovery is under way. However, the rebound is uneven across the region, and policymakers face the difficult challenge of dealing with the legacies of the crisis, while not hurting the recovery. Beyond the short term, the REO argues that the region will need to find new growth engines, as the capital inflows-driven and credit-fueled domestic demand boom needs to give way to more balanced growth. Indeed, the REO emphasizes that active fiscal policy and coordinated prudential measures are key to avoiding a repeat of the boom-bust cycle the region has just endured.




Composites for Automotive Applications


Book Description

Various factors in the automotive sector have combined to create a favourable climate for the development of materials and fabrication techniques for polymer-based composite body panels and structures. The cond104 in which composites are used within the automotive industry has been reviewed in this report and those materials and processes that are used in the fabrication of components and structures are described in detail. For this reason, this report is essential reading for the composites, plastics industries and the land transport/automotive sectors. An additional indexed section containing several hundred abstracts from the Rapra Polymer Library database gives useful references for further reading.




Wrecked


Book Description

At its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, automobile manufacturing was the largest, most profitable industry in the United States and residents of industry hubs like Detroit and Flint, Michigan had some of the highest incomes in the country. Over the last half-century, the industry has declined, and American automakers now struggle to stay profitable. How did the most prosperous industry in the richest country in the world crash and burn? In Wrecked, sociologists Joshua Murray and Michael Schwartz offer an unprecedented historical-sociological analysis of the downfall of the auto industry. Through an in-depth examination of labor relations and the production processes of automakers in the U.S. and Japan both before and after World War II, they demonstrate that the decline of the American manufacturers was the unintended consequence of their attempts to weaken the bargaining power of their unions. Today Japanese and many European automakers produce higher quality cars at lower cost than their American counterparts thanks to a flexible form of production characterized by long-term sole suppliers, assembly and supply plants located near each other, and just-in-time delivery of raw materials. While this style of production was, in fact, pioneered in the U.S. prior to World War II, in the years after the war, American automakers deliberately dismantled this system. As Murray and Schwartz show, flexible production accelerated innovation but also facilitated workers’ efforts to unionize plants and carry out work stoppages. To reduce the efficacy of strikes and combat the labor militancy that flourished between the Depression and the postwar period, the industry dispersed production across the nation, began maintaining large stockpiles of inventory, and eliminated single sourcing. While this restructuring of production did ultimately reduce workers’ leverage, it also decreased production efficiency and innovation. The U.S. auto industry has struggled ever since to compete with foreign automakers, and formerly thriving motor cities have suffered the consequences of mass deindustrialization. Murray and Schwartz argue that new business models that reinstate flexible production and prioritize innovation rather than cheap labor could stem the outsourcing of jobs and help revive the auto industry. By clarifying the historical relationships between production processes, organized labor, and industrial innovation, Wrecked provides new insights into the inner workings and decline of the U.S. auto industry.